Iran Caught Between Past and Present

Iran marked the mourning day of Ashura this week, observing – with drums, not self-flagellation, according to this Guardian photo essay – the death of Hossein, the Shi’ite imam and martyr.

But it commemorated something else, too – because this year, Ashura coincided with the 35-year anniversary of the takeover of the US embassy in Tehran and the subsequent 444-day-long hostage crisis. On November 4, 1979, hundreds of Iranian students stormed the building in a revolution-inspired fervor, ensuring that the already-shaky foundations of US-Iranian ties post-1979 would henceforth be laced with deep mistrust.

Needless to say, commentators in Iran and outside of it have a lot to say on the significance of the double anniversary. Stephen Kinzer, writing for The Boston Globe, suggested this week that the crisis “created passions in both countries that blind us to the deep interests we share in the Middle East and beyond.” Voice of America, on the other hand, cited former hostages saying Iran has yet to be held accountable for the incident, with Iran News Update adding that its attitude to the crisis proved Tehran had remained “unchanged” since 1979.

No doubt, it’s been a soul-searching Ashura-versary for Iran as it struggles to convince itself it is still living the Ashura-inspired revolution of its violent past – while at the same time trying to convince the West it shares its values.